On the Archipeligo with Gudrun Sjõdén

Gudrun Sjõdén opened a shop in Soho the week after we were in New York. I was sorry to miss the grand opening. Her spring and summer collection is full of color and pattern—as I’ve come to expect—but she continues to create settings that are visually poetic and inviting.

In this collection we are welcomed to “the outer edge of the archipelago.” I can barely think of another word that I like more at this very moment. ‘Archipelago’ is the very definition of edges and nuance, isn’t it? And the photos of some obscure Swedish landscape further suggest water and thin curving spits of land reaching out, allowing a view in either direction to the other islands in the chain.

As I write I am humming The Albatross (lyrics here) by Rickie Lee Jones, a song I’ve known and loved for over 20 years, with its repeated use of the word archipelago and its maritime suggestions of a boat’s mast over the garden wall, a family living by the sea, sailor’s calls and echoes.

Another post about Gudrun Sjõdén.